Dotria vs Dots on Paper

Dotria is a strategy game about territory, played on an endless grid. You and your opponent place dots in turn. Enclose a group of enemy dots inside a closed chain of your own, and that ground — and everything standing on it — becomes yours. The rules take a minute to learn. Playing them well takes considerably longer. A COMPUTER OPPONENT THAT THINKS Dotria's opponent is not a set of canned replies. It searches the position each turn: it weighs a capture against what the trade hands back, it sees an encirclement forming several moves before it closes, and it defends the ground worth defending. Three levels — Easy, Medium and Advanced — and Advanced is a genuine opponent, not a formality. The engine is tuned from real games, and it keeps getting sharper. TWO PLAYERS, ONE DEVICE Pass the iPhone or iPad across the table. No account, no connection, no waiting for anyone. PLAY ANYWHERE Dotria works fully offline. No sign-in is required to play. BUILT TO BE LOOKED AT A board that stays legible whether you like it light or dark, dots you can size to your own eyes, and captured territory drawn so you can read the shape of a game at a glance. Game Center leaderboards, and your records carried across your devices through iCloud. Dotria is free and supported by ads. A single one-time purchase removes them permanently, on every device signed in to your Apple Account. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

The game from the last row of desks, exactly as you remember it, only fast. Squared paper, a red pen and a blue one, and an opponent who has already moved. Dots (Kropki) is the classic pen-and-paper game of encirclement: place dots on the grid, close a chain around your opponent's, and the ground inside is yours. The rules take a minute to learn; the depth lasts for years. This version is the blitz that never existed: 60 seconds for the whole match, 10 seconds a move. Whoever sees the board fastest wins. A NOTEBOOK, NOT AN APP Real squared paper with a margin, ballpoint ink, hand-drawn hatching over captured ground. Every move is drawn the way it would be drawn at a school desk. You won't find a glossy button or a particle effect anywhere in it. TEN OPPONENTS From a daydreaming beginner to the Grandmaster of the Notebook. Each one makes mistakes its own way, like a person rather than a throttled machine. King of the Hill: ten wins in a row, and one loss sends you back to the bottom. TOURNAMENT RULES Yes, Dots has a federation and published competition rules. Sport mode plays by them: the starting cross, strict alternation, an Elo rating and real ranks you can lose. PLAYS OFFLINE On a plane, in the subway, at a cabin: all ten opponents, the mountain and free play work with no internet and no account. TWO PLAYERS, ONE PHONE Pass and play: one screen, two pens. Hand the phone across the desk the way you'd hand over the notebook. PLAY WITH PEOPLE Over Game Center: invite a friend, stake a match against a stranger, or enter the weekly tournament. There is no account to create. It's you, an opponent, and the paper. 47 ACHIEVEMENTS From First Win to the Grandmaster title, with a shelf of shame for those who resign. Game Center keeps the score. FAIR BY DESIGN The game is free, and ads play only when you ask for one: watch it, pocket the coins. Nothing you buy affects the match. Pens, watches and manicures change how your hand looks, never how the game plays. There are no hints and no undo: a placed dot is placed. Place a dot. The clock is already running.